16 So the king left, with his entire household following him, but he left ten secondary wives behind to take care of the palace.
17 So the king left, with all his people following him, and they stopped at the last house.
18 All the king’s servants marched past him, as did all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why are you coming with us too? Go back! Stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner and an exile from your own country.
20 You just got here yesterday. So today should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I have to go? No. Go back, and take your relatives with you. May the Lord show you loyal love and faithfulness."
21 But Ittai answered the king, "As surely as the Lord lives and as surely as my master the king lives, wherever my master the king may be, facing death or facing life, your servant will be there too."
22 "Okay then," David replied to Ittai. "Keep marching!"So Ittai the Gittite and all of his men and all the little children with him marched past.